Rally With a Twist: Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap (Wednesday 5/15/19)

Some days, the market actually makes sense, Jim Cramer told his Mad Money viewers Wednesday. After a rough open in the morning, the stock market was able to roar higher by the close, thanks to softer talk on trade, strong buying in the recession stocks and a surprise twist -- healthcare.

Cramer said the markets hang on every presidential tweet regarding trade and tariffs, so today's quieter day was welcome news. And while weaker retail sales did ding the stocks of Macy's (M - Get Report) and other retailers, investors were quick to snap up a host of other sectors, including the fast-growing FANG stocks, the cloud kings, consumer staples like Procter & Gamble (PG - Get Report) (KO - Get Report) , and even Apple (AAPL - Get Report) .

But the surprise twist came in the healthcare sector, a group that had been in the doghouse as Democratic presidential candidates spooked investors with calls for "Medicare for all". For Wednesday, even these left-for-dead names were too cheap to ignore.

All of these factors gave the markets a new lease on life, Cramer concluded, and the buying could extend into Thursday's trading as well.

Trade Tensions and Timing

How will the ongoing trade tensions play out for the stock market? Cramer weighed in with his thoughts. He said that investors shouldn't trust any numbers or data out of China, as they simply cannot be trusted. The Chinese economy is certainly feeling the pain of increased tariffs, yet according to Alibaba (BABA - Get Report) , the Chinese consumer is alive and well.

Cramer said it's also important for investors to remember that China's unfair trade policies are in effect because they benefit China. They'd rather see a stalemate than a deal that makes them look in the wrong. President Trump is also happy with a stalemate, as it adds over $100 billion a year to the U.S. Treasury.

Trump also likes conflict, Cramer said, and wants U.S. companies out of China. That's putting higher multiples on companies that have made the move and is putting pressure on those that haven't.

Those investors looking for a quick resolution may end up being disappointed, Cramer concluded, as tariffs may be around for quite some time.

Executive Decision: Cisco Systems

For his "Executive Decision" segment, Cramer spoke with Chuck Robbins, chairman and CEO, and Kelly Kramer, CFO, of Cisco Systems (CSCO - Get Report) , a stock that's up 21% for the year.

Robbins said that Cisco's business continues to grow and is a solid mix of both hardware and services revenue. He said they are now the largest cybersecurity provider to the enterprise segment, and that segment is growing 21% a year. Most of that revenue is subscription-based.

When asked about China and tariffs, Robbins noted that only 3% of Cisco's business stems from China. But as soon as increased tariffs were announced, it only took his team 48 hours to assess the changes and make the necessary adjustments to mitigate them. All current tariffs are built into their guidance, he added.

Kramer said that Cisco continues to be opportunistic when it comes to its stock buyback program and is reducing its share count on every pullback. Cisco is also benefiting from decreased DRAM prices which are now a tailwind for its hardware products.

Executive Decision: Roku

In his second "Executive Decision" segment, Cramer also sat down with Anthony Wood, chairman and CEO of Roku (ROKU - Get Report) , the streaming media provider with shares up 31% just this month alone.

Wood said that streaming media is more popular than ever and about half of Roku users don't have a cable TV package at home. He said Roku is the No. 1 streaming provider in the country, and and provides customers with a purpose-built experience with more choices than ever before.

Wood added that not all streaming media is paid. He said many customers buy a $29 device from Roku and only stream free content.

When asked about all of the new streaming services coming soon, Wood explained that each new service only brings more people to the streaming world and he welcomes Walt Disney Co. (DIS - Get Report) , Apple and others.

Off the Tape: Good Rx

In his "Off The Tape" segment, Cramer sat down with Doug Hirsch, co-founder and co-CEO of the privately held GoodRx, the price comparison service for prescriptions that saves users an average of $276 a year.

Hirsch said that most people simply don't know that you can shop around for your prescriptions, and doing so can save them a lot of money.

Hirsch added that with insurance plans covering less, and deductibles on the rise, the best price might be with your insurance company, but it might not. That's why GoodRx has billions of prices and coupons in their database to help find the best price.

Doctors, pharmacies and drug makers all want consumers to get the best prices on prescriptions, Hirsch said, but many times it takes a third party to organize all of the available information and determine where the best deal can be found.

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